Packaged article and method for producing the same.



P. GRABBER. PACKAGED ARTICLE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED OWL-14, 1913.

1,1 14,748. Patent ed Oct. 27, 1914.

ii l 3mm I ZZZWM 2% THE NORRIS PETERS CO. PHOTO-LITHOA. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK GRAEBER, OE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB- T0 HERMAN HOW-ARI) HARTING, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. I

PACKAGED ARTICLE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ()ct. 2'7, 1914;.

Original application filed April 26,1913, Serial No. 763,815. Dividedand this application filed October 14,

1913. Serial No. 795,104.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK GRAEBER, acitizenof the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Packaged Articles and Methods for Producing the Same, ofwhich the following is a speci' cation.

My invention relates to packaging food products and more particularly tothe providing of packages of this type with a paraffin coating-thepresent application being drawn to the packaged article and the methodfor producing the same, being a division of the application filed by meAprii 26, 1913, Serial No. 763,815.

In packaging food products, such as jellies, etc, the container isgenerally in the form of a glass tumbler, and after the jelly is placedtherein, a coating of paraffin is applied to the exposed surface of thejelly. This coating has generally been in the form of a relatively flatlayer of parafiin of substantially equal thickness throughout thecoating, the result being that either a relatively thick layer must beemployed in order to provide the periphery of the coating with a surfaceof suiiicient extent to provide the proper adhesion to the glass, orwhere the layer has been comparatively thin, such peripheral contact hasbeen insuflicient to provide the proper excluding qualities as well asadhesion to the glass.

The present invention contemplates the forming of a comparatively thinlayer with a peripheral surface adapted to contact with the glass, saidcontacting surface being of greater length lengthwise of the glass thanthe thickness of the layer, this being pro vided by displacing theparaffin while in its liquid state so as to decrease the thickness ofthe initial layer, the displaced material being forced along the glasssurface so as to cause it to extend above the top plane of the mainportion of the layer, providing the appearance somewhat of a dish shapedcoating,the lower surface of the layer, however, extending throughoutthe area of the exposed face of the jelly, the result being that withoutincreasing the amount of paraffin required, a coating of suiiicientthickness for the desired purpose is provided, and at the same time amaximum peripheral sur- I face in contact with the glass is produced.

Among the obj ects of my invention, therefore, are to be found theproduction of a food product packagehaving a paraffin coating of thecharacteristics above indicated, and the provision of a method forproducing such package. I

To these and other ends,the nature of which will be readily understoodas the invention is hereinafter disclosed, my invention consists in theimproved package and the method by means of which it may be provided,all as hereinafter fully described,

connection with operating mechanism in the parent application. "Fig. 3is'a horizontal sectional view of one of the valve containing cups.Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, are views, somewhat diagrammatic, illustratingthe method in which the coating is produced, the valve structures ofFigs. 1, 2 and 3 being used in connection therewith. Fig. 8 is a detailview showing a simple way in which my method may be carried out.

The package with its paraffin coating formed in accordance with mypresent invention is shown, somewhat diagrammatically, at the bottom ofFig. 7 the glass or containerbeing indicated at 25, the food products at26, and the coating at 27, the coating being shown as in the form of acomparatively thin layer with a flange 27 projecting upwardlyperipherally of the layer and in contact with the inner face of theglass, thus making an extended peripheral contact with the glass, and atthe same time providing a relatively thin layer of sufficient thickness,however, to provide the desired excluding qualities. It is to'beunderstood, however, that the present invention is not limited to a thinlayer, nor tothe amount of projection of the flange 2" to provide theperipheral contact, these necessarily varying according to theparticular food products being packaged aswell as to i meet the desiresof the user, the main feature being that the thickness of the layer beincreased peripherally at its point of contact with the glass andlengthwise of the glass, it being preferred that the increase be on theside of the layer opposite that of the food products. The method bywhich this result is obtained is shown diagrammatically in Figs. 4 to 7,consisting in forming a layer of liquid paraflin on the top of the foodproducts within the glass, preferably in measured quantity, and thenplacing a suitable plunger of less diameter than the diameter of theglass on the top surface of this layer, while still in liquid state, andapplying pressure to the plunger, thereby forcing out air bubbles, etc.,which may be exposed on the top of the food products and at the sametime displacing a portion of the paraifin so that it will passbetweenthe sides of the plunger and the glass, the plunger beingretained in position sufficiently long to permit the paraffin to set,after which the plunger is withdrawn. A simple form for producing thisresult is shown in Fig. 8, in which the plunger is indicated at 28. As aresult, the layer is expanded along its periphery and provides arelatively wide surface contact with the glass and thus pro duces amaximum excluding effect.

The specific apparatus by means of which the method is preferablyprovided is more particularly set forth in. my prior application aboveidentified. However, I have in cluded herein a showing of a portion ofsuch apparatus, this showing being that of one of the elements whichare-employed for the purpose of delivering a predetermined amount ofliquid paraiiin to the food products container, the structure beingadapted to act as the plunger by means of which the pressure is placedupon the paraffin coating after the latter has been deposited. Thestructure referred to comprises a cup-shaped receptacle, indicated at36, which is secured within the bottom of a tank containing liquidparaffin, the bottom of the cup being provided with one or more openings36 (I prefer to employ two openings), these openings being spaced apartand forming the discharge openings for the parafiin.

37 designates a valve member which is carried by a stem 38, the latterbeing suitably mounted for rotation or oscillation, said stem extendingthrough a cut-off plate 39 mounted within the cup above the valve andpreferably held against rotation by suitable means such as a spline 39*.I preferably render the plate 39 yieldable slightly, and for thispurpose I may employ rods 39 carrying a collar 39 between which and abar 40 is mounted spring 39 I preferably employ two of these structuresapproximately diametrically opposed with respect tov the plate. Theplate 39 is preferably provided with one or more openings 39*, (thenumber corresponding to the number of openings 36 the openings 39 beingpositioned out of vertical alinement with the openings 36 a preferablearrangement being shown in Fig. 3, in which the openings 36 are shown indotted lines. The valve 37 is also provided with a similar number ofopenings 37 and in the operation of the apparatus, the valve ispositioned to have its openings 37 in alinement with the openings 39when the apparatus is at rest, the valve in this position, being adaptedto receive the paraffin, the latter filling the openings 37 as well asthe openings 39 As will. be readily understood, a movement of the valvein a rotary direction will carry its openings out of alinement with theopenings 39 and into alinement with the openings 36, the movements ofthe valve between these positions providing for the segregating of theproper amount of. paraffin for use in providing the coating for a singlecontainer, the valve receiving the paraffin through the openings 39 anddischarging it through the openings 36 As will be understood, themovement of the valve in passing from its receiving to its dischargingposition will act to cut off the supply when the openings 37 have passedout of alinement with the openings 39 As will be obvious, the size ofthe openings 37*, will determine the amount of paraifin discharged, thenormal amount being about a spoonful.

The stem 38 may be rotated in any desired manner the structure shownbeing that of a pinion 41 carried by the stem 38,- this pinion beingoperatively connected to a rack 42, the rack being adapted to be givenintermittent back and forth motions through mechanism not specificallydisclosed herein but forming a part of the general apparatus.

It will be understood that a suitable support for the food productscontainer will be provided beneath the cups 36 or the plunger 28, as thecase may be, or if desired, the container may be manually supported.

The operation of the method will be un derstood from the preceding(:lescripition, but in connection with the specific valve structuresshown, the following additional statement of operation is given. Itbeing assumed that the tank to which the cup 36 is attached is providedwith paraffin in a liquid state and which paraffin extends into the cup36, and it also being assumed that a container is positioned below thecup, and that the valve 37 is in the position shown in Fig. 4, aposition which brings the openings 37 into alinement with the openings39*, a movement of the rack 42 in one direction causes the valve 37 tobe moved so as to bring the openings 37' into alinement with theopenings 36*, thus perwill bring the upper surface of the paralfn' layerinto contact with the bottom of the cup and as the cup is of lessdiameter than the diameter of the glass or container, it

will be readily understood that a further movement of the containertoward the cup will cause pressure to be applied on the paraflin layerto displace a portion thereof and cause it to pass around the side wallof the cup adjacent the cup bottom, the slight amount of paraii'in whichmay pass within the openings 36 being negligible. This displacement actsto provide the flange and at the same time causes the air bubbles to tobe broken, and the air expelled around the side of the glass, thislatter being more clearly apparent from the fact that it is to beunderstood that the cups being in con tact with heated paraffin will inthemselves have suflicient heat to retain the paraflin against hardeninga length of time sufficient to permit of this action with respect to thedischarge of air bubbles and the formation of the flange and its contactwith the walls of the glass.

While I have shown and described a method for producing the packagereferred to, it will be readily understood that changes andmodifications therein may be required or desired to meet the exigenciesof use and I desire to be understood as reservingthe right to make suchchanges and modifications as may be necessary or desirablein thisconnection in so far as the same may fall within the spirit and scope ofthe invention as expressed in the accompanying claims. Also, in the useof terms throughout the specification and claims I contemplate allequivalents in meaning and in parts or materials. For instance, the termparafin typifies and includes all sealing materials which may be used ina similar manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In a food-products package, a container for the food product, and asealing coating for the food product, said coating being formed in placefrom molten sealing material and in the form of a layer dish-shaped incross section with anupturned peripheral flange adhering to the wall ofsaid container.

2. A food-products package comprising a container for the food product,and a sealing coating formed in place from molten sealing material abovethe upper surface of the food product and with an upturned peripheralflange in adhering sealing engagement with the Wall of said container.

3. A food-products package comprising a container for the food product,and a subtantially flat sealing coating formed in place from moltensealing material upon the upper surface of the food product and with anupturned peripheral flange of substantially uniform thickness inadhering sealing engagement with the wall of said container.

4:. A food-products package comprising a container for the food product,and a sealing coating formed in place from molten sealing material toprovide a substantially flat uni-' form layer over the food product andan upturned peripheral flange substantially the thickness of said layerin adhering sealing engagement with the wall of said container.

5. A food-products package comprising a sealing coating formed in placefrom molten sealing material and with a substantially flat coveringportion and an upturned peripheral flange.

6. The method of applying coating to food-product packages whichconsists in forming a layer of liquid sealing material on the surface ofthe product, and then displacing the layer to form a laterally-extendingflange at the periphery of the layer, the inner wall of the food-productcontainer forming a mold wall for the flange.

7. The method of applying a paraflin coating to food-product packageswhich consists in forming a layer of liquid sealing material on thesurface of the product, and then applying pressure to the exposed faceof the layer to partially displace it peripherally to form a laterallyprojecting flange, the product container forming a mold wall for theflange during the displacing operation. r

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

FRANK GRAEBER. Witnesses:

J OHN W. ARMSTRONG, W. J. ARMSTRONG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

